Boiling Sunrise - Redux
A nice twist on the Tequila Sunrise, pour orange juice, tequila and grenadine into a pint glass. Stir in beer. A nice, easy drink after knocking back something far heavier.
Ruby woke with the dawn, the thin ray of sun warming her cheek. Blinking sleep from her eyes, she rolled to her side, pulling the edge of the down-stuffed pillow over her face. She hissed as the movement pressed against her injured ribs, the cracked bones complaining about the rough treatment so early in the morning. Careful to use only her arms, Ruby pushed herself up off the bed. Looking down, she found Weiss slumped across the mattress, half-sitting in the chair placed by the bedside. Her lips fluttered as she breathed, one strap of the pale blue nightdress hanging loosely off her shoulder.
Ruby smiled as she stared at her sleeping guardian. Weiss had taken her injuries much worse than Ruby had, working herself into a frenzy over the cracked ribs. She'd insisted on guarding her unwilling patient through the night, convinced that Ruby would break something else if she left her side. Apparently, she had finally passed out, collapsed on the bed with one hand still holding onto Ruby's.
Ruby smiled, slowly disentangling their fingers. The sleeping girl huffed softly, her head rumpling the sheets as she shifted.
She really is cute when she sleeps, Ruby thought, reaching over to brush a stray lock of ivory hair back into place. Her hand lingered by Weiss' cheek, the skin delightfully warm to her touch. Unconsciously, Weiss nuzzled into Ruby's hand, lips brushing against her fingers.
"Ruby," she murmured, breath tickling Ruby's hand as she slept.
Ruby pulled her hand away, smile slowly fading.
If I lead her on and change my mind ... Ruby sighed, pushing the thoughts away. She had been honest with Weiss about her feelings. This was what she wanted, even if she wasn't sure what kind of future they would have. Even if she didn't know anything about how this might end.
"Stop ... not there," Weiss murmured, brow furrowed in her sleep.
Ruby stared down at the unconscious girl, grinning at the thought that Weiss was dreaming of her.
This is nice, she realized, playing with the ends of Weiss' hair while the other girl slept beside her. Well, not beside her, beside her but ... well, it was close enough. She liked having Weiss nearby, and it was nice having her back. The two had practically slept on top of each other back at Beacon, and Ruby couldn't count the times she'd fallen asleep listening to Weiss' quiet breaths ... and Yang's snores.
An idea came to her, and she smiled in spite of herself. It was really more something Yang would do – something more worthy of the constantly teasing, troublemaker older sister. Still ...
Ruby bit her cheek, tried to fight temptation, and failed. Leaning over, she slipped her hands down the back of Weiss' pale nightgown, slowly pulling each button from its hole until the cloth fell open. Running her fingers down the sleeping girl's bare back, Ruby tickled her spine, feeling Weiss squirm. Pushing the loosened straps a little lower down Weiss' arms, she bent closer, ignoring the stabs of pain from her traitorous ribs, and blew into her lover's ear.
"Whaa?" Weiss's head rose, her eyes still half-lidded from sleep.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Ruby beamed innocently, stroking her hand through the cascade of white hair.
"Uh huh." Weiss groggily pushed herself off the bed, groaning as her stiff back straightened. "Guess I fell asleep."
"Yup." Ruby crossed her fingers under the comforter, counting down in her head as the mischievous grin widened.
"What are you smiling about?"
Three, Two, One.
"What did you do?" Weiss asked suspiciously, one hand rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Liftoff."
Weiss' movement was the final straw, jarring the thin silk enough to overcome the last dregs of inertia. The gown slipped down the arms of the drowsy girl, leaving her uncovered chest exposed. The pale breasts moved in time with her breathing, then heaved as the girl jerked back, arms flying up to cover her chest.
"RUBY!"
"Totally worth it!" Ruby managed to cry before Weiss brained her with a pillow.
Cereal crunched as Ruby bit down into her breakfast. The first one up, she'd decided trying to cook was just a way to get more injuries; a big bowl of cookie-themed cereal seemed less likely to cause explosions.
At least it had, before Weiss emerged fully-clothed from Ruby's room and promptly dumped her delicious milk-and-cookie goodness down the garbage disposal. Ignoring the younger girl's protests, Weiss slid a bowl of something tasteless and supposedly healthier across the table. Fixing her own breakfast, she sat, a blast shield of a newspaper snapping open as she studiously ignored the pouting girl sitting beside her.
Eventually Yang staggered out of her room, saw Blake coming out of the guest bedroom, and silently headed for the kitchen. The other girls joined them, each wordlessly grabbing food before sitting down on opposite sides of the table.
Demolishing the tasteless bran clumps with as much vindictiveness as she could muster, Ruby looked around at her teammates. Blake and Yang weren't talking. In fact, they were not talking as loudly as they possibly could. Ruby tried to catch Weiss' eye, desperate for someone, anyone, to break the silence. Weiss pointedly turned a page of her newspaper, apparently still annoyed with Ruby for the stunt she'd pulled.
"So ... how's breakfast?" she asked, her voice wavering.
Yang didn't even look up from her food, still mechanically emptying her bowl by the spoonful. Blake actually showed some signs of life, glancing up briefly. Dark circles lined her half-lidded eyes, narrowing as she did a double take, staring at Ruby.
"Why is there a feather in your hair?"
Weiss went beet red behind the newspaper, still trying to feign interest in the morning's stock report.
"I keep a stuffed Nevermore over my bed," Ruby lied. She was too frustrated to come up with anything believable. "Keeps away bad dreams."
Blake nodded skeptically as Weiss slumped a little lower behind the business page. Yang had apparently gone deaf, the rhythmic chewing looking more and more automatic. Glancing over, Ruby caught Blake's eyes and cocked her head at her sister, brows furrowed.
The Faunus girl ignored the silent question and went back to her toast. The room sent silent again, the only noise the crunching of food and the turning of Weiss' newspaper.
"It's also where I keep my sex toys."
Weiss nearly did a spit take, going into a coughing fit after something went the wrong way down her throat. Blake dutifully patted her on the back, looking at Ruby incredulously. Yang simply kept eating.
"Sometimes I take out a bat and use it as a perverted piñata."
Still nothing from her sister. Ruby ignored the heiress' spluttering as she checked the time, declaring Yang officially dead to the world. It was time to bring out the big guns.
"When it breaks, I grab the first thing that falls and just go to tow..."
Blake stood, the chair scratching against the linoleum, cutting Ruby off before she could go into greater detail.
"Excuse me," she said, and stalked back into the guest room, letting the door shut a little too loudly behind her.
Then Yang finally moved, her head coming up to stare at Blake's retreating back.
Pressing what advantage she had, Ruby scooped a handful of bran chunks from the box and chucked them across the table. They rained down on Yang, a few catching in her unkempt mass of hair. One lucky shot smacked her in the forehead.
Shaking cereal from her tangles, the blonde turned to Ruby, her mournful expression a far cry from her regular antics.
"What happened?" Ruby asked. "You were practically giddy before your date."
Weiss' head popped out of the newspaper like a mechanical mole.
"What date?"
Ruby kicked her foot lightly, not wanting to take her eyes off her sister. The last thing she needed right now was a distraction.
"What happened?" she repeated, more than happy to wait Yang out.
Yang said nothing, and Ruby's hand inched towards the cereal box, ready for another volley.
"She thinks Adam's alive," Yang said softly, before taking another bite.
Ruby's gut churned, that name ruining her appetite. Focusing on Yang, she forced the reaction aside. Now wasn't the time to deal with whatever lingering anger and guilt she had over that particular death. She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder and turned to find Weiss watching her, eyes filled with concern. She smiled, covering Weiss' hand with her own before looking back to Yang.
"So ... how did you go from 'dead man walking' to 'not speaking to each other?'"
"She thinks he sent the guy you shot."
Ruby nodded, waiting for Yang to finish explaining. She didn't.
"And you're not talking because ..."
Yang looked up, letting her spoon clang off the bowl. "Because she thought she saw him two days ago!"
Ruby forced her fist to unclench. Not now. "That's why she's so tired. Adam coming back ... she must be worried sick."
"Then why wouldn't she tell me?"
Ah. Ruby sighed. It was nice to know the reason Blake and Yang could barely look at each other, and just a little pathetic that it had taken her this long to figure it out.
"It's Blake." Ruby said, shrugging. "I mean, I love her like a sister, but it's pretty normal for her to hide stuff."
"We've been her team for years. We've saved each other dozens of times. And if there's even a chance that fucker's back," Yang snapped, slamming her hand on the table. "I have a goddamn right to know!"
Ruby sighed and leaned against the table. "Yang, if I saw Adam up and walking around, I wouldn't rush over to tell you either. I'd think I was losing my mind." She paused, waiting for her words to sink in. "Plus, she knows better than anyone what you had to ... I mean, if she told you, it's 'cause she trusted you to help, not treat her like a basket case."
Yang opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, slumping even lower as she looked back down at her food.
Lobbing bran flakes with increasing accuracy, Ruby pulled Yang's attention back to her. She wasn't about to let her big sister wallow in self-pity. "Is that it?"
"Not ... exactly."
Ruby rolled her eyes, and reached across the table to flick her sister's forehead. "Sis, don't be Weiss."
"Hey!" Weiss' objected, hand popping out from under Ruby's, going quiet when Ruby kicked her lightly again.
She turned back to her sister, "Right now, what do you want?"
Yang blinked, a beat passing before her eyes refocused.
"How did you get good at this?"
Ruby leaned back, trademark smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. "I'm not team leader just 'cause of my looks. And I learned it from you."
Yang snorted lightly, patting her little sister on the head. Without a word, she marched off towards the guest bedroom, her jaw set, spine ramrod-straight.
"You think that helped?" Weiss said out the side of her mouth as they watched Yang leave.
"Maaaaybe?"
Weiss gave her a scathing look then shook her head. "And if Adam is alive?"
Ruby's teeth ground in time with her twisting stomach. "I'll find a deeper hole to bury him in."
A hand squeezed hers, and she looked over to find Weiss smiling sadly at her. She smiled back, appreciating the silent comfort.
The older girl cleared her throat, then glared almost convincingly over at Ruby. "You should know, I am going to get you back for this morning."
"... maybe I can make it up to you," the brunette murmured, sliding across her chair to put one hand on Weiss' lap. The other flowed up Weiss' side, tracing the outlines of her curves before coming up to cup her face.
"Ruby! You'll hurt your ribs!"
Ruby's reply was to shift closer, fingers splaying through ivory hair as she cuddled up against the heiress.
"Weiss, I kinda want to kiss you. You okay with that?"
Ice-blue eyes widened as Weiss looked at her. Ruby waited as Weiss swallowed, her gaze flicked between Ruby's face and her lips. Then, finally, after what seemed like forever, she reached out, took a swig of her coffee, and nodded. "Just don't hurt yourself."
Ruby reached out and gently pulled Weiss to her, humoring the heiress and letting her do all the work. Weiss' lips met hers, and Ruby slid her hands up into the cascade of snow-white hair.
She tastes like coffee, Ruby grinned, lips breaking into a smile as she came away. Weiss met her eyes and scowled, her cheeks red.
"Do you wanna do that again?" Ruby asked, one finger tracing lazily over Weiss' collarbone.
Weiss' jaw clenched, and she swallowed, looking like she could barely keep herself from doing exactly that. "Yang could come back ..."
Ruby nodded and took Weiss' hand in hers. She stood, leaving breakfast behind and moving towards her bedroom door, pulling Weiss along behind her. The door clicked shut, and Ruby pulled Weiss down to sit on the end of the bed, their knees touched as Ruby leaned in again.
"Ruby-" Weiss started when they came apart.
"Weiss ... we might have lost Blake last night," the younger woman cut her off. "I mean, she probably would have been fine, she can take care of herself. But ... look, our lives aren't the safest things in the world, and I don't want something to happen to either of us before we ..." she trailed off, looking down at their hands. "I want this. I really want this. If you do too, then-"
"You'll hurt your ribs." Weiss gave another look at the bandages peeking out from beneath Ruby's pajamas.
"My aura's already started healing them. Plus, deep heavy breathing is important with rib injuries. You don't want me catching pneumonia, right?" Ruby stared at her with the biggest puppy eyes she could muster.
Weiss' glower wavered, growing even less convincing as her lover reached up to stroke her back, ignoring the needles of pain in her side.
"I doubt your doctor recommended sex as a way to prevent pneumonia."
Ruby leaned in, her lips scant millimeters from Weiss' ear. Slowly, softly, she whispered the heiress' name, each syllable filled with need and desire. Kissing the side of her neck, Ruby called Weiss' name again, still soft and gentle. She worked her way around her lover's face until their foreheads pressed together, their lips dangerously close, wide puppy eyes still begging for attention.
"How 'bout now?"
Ruby watched as Weiss desperately tried to maintain her scowl, forehead twitching as blood rushed to her cheeks.
"... Fine."
Mischievous silver eyes glinted as Ruby pressed into her girlfriend, their kiss fueled with the passion of survival. Weiss broke the kiss as soon as her back hit the bed, catching herself before the girl tugging at her jacket could topple them.
Crawling back up the bed, Ruby lay herself down next to the gasping girl, kissing Weiss to remind her she was there. Those ice-blue eyes were still clenched, a few tears on her cheeks from the sheer buildup and release.
Ignoring the pain in her side, Ruby leaned in, kissing the tears away while Weiss panted beneath her. She cuddled closer, lying on her uninjured side as she spooned against her partner. Slowly, the other girl eased into her, finally letting her snow-white head lean against Ruby's red highlights.
Lips pressed against Ruby's forehead, and she looked up to find Weiss staring down at her.
"Th ... thanks," the older girl said, almost begrudgingly. Her face was flushed, from exertion or embarrassment, Ruby wasn't sure. Either way, it was definitely, uniquely, adorably Weiss.
"Anytime." Ruby smiled, resting her chin against Weiss' shoulder.
"I just wish," Weiss panted, "That this had been our first time."
"That's what I'm saying it was," Ruby breathed heavily, her hands sliding up Weiss' spine. "Our first time. Just you and me, no complications."
Weiss pushed herself off the bed, twisting to land above the brunette, her body looming over the younger girl. Her face was still red, but her jaw was set and a determined glint sat in her eyes.
"My turn," she growled, and leaned in to kiss Ruby's neck.
A soft knock pulled Blake from her suitcase, her belongings almost completely re-packed. She ignored it, shoving her pajamas into the black canvas.
The knock came again, tentative and quiet.
"Can I come in?" Yang asked through the door.
Blake sighed, blowing a few stray hairs off her face.
"It's your apartment."
Yang stepped into the room, her blond mane flowing behind her. Blake kept her gaze locked on her clothes, not wanting to see the look in those eyes from the night before.
"You're leaving," Yang said. It was a statement, not a question, and Blake wasn't sure what she heard in that voice.
Blake sighed and pulled out one of her shirts. The damn thing just wouldn't fold right. "I can't stay here, Yang. I can't ask you or Ruby to put yourselves in danger because of me. Again."
Without warning, Yang wrapped her arms around Blake, pulling the dark-haired girl tight to her chest.
"You've never had to ask," the blonde growled, squeezing Blake a little tighter.
She hesitated for a moment, and then Blake let the shirt fall from her fingers. Wrapping her own arms around Yang, she returned the embrace, chin buried in the hollow of Yang's neck.
"You're late," she mumbled into the blonde's collarbone, the tension that had kept her up most of the night finally fading away in the bone-crushing bear hug.
"Sorry." Yang held her tighter, and Blake couldn't bring herself to mind. "... I need to know why you didn't tell me."
Blake nodded into Yang's shoulder, pushing on her toes to put her chin next to the blonde's ear.
"I didn't tell you because I thought I was losing my mind," her voice caught, and she cleared her throat, needing to make it through this. "And because I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt again because of me."
"... and asking me to stay?"
"Because I needed someone I trusted completely," her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. She had to make it through this. "And because I'd wanted to tear your clothes off since our dinner date."
Yang's only response was to squeeze her tighter, those powerful arms pulling them even closer together. Blake leaned into the hug, her weight resting on that powerful frame as the heat of the blonde's body spread through her.
"I ... I'm sorry, Yang."
"It's ..." Yang trailed off. "I was gonna say it's okay, but," she stopped again, then pulled back just enough to look down at Blake. "Look, your first instinct when something bad happens is to deal with it yourself. And that's fine, you know, self-sufficient and everything. But you have a team. You have me. Running away to keep us safe didn't work after the attack on Beacon, and you sure as hell better know it's not gonna work now."
She sighed, and Blake felt Yang's right arm tense against her back. "And if you really think Adam's back, I think I have the right to know."
"That's ..." Blake said, fumbling for the right thing to say. Adam was ... he was her problem. Her personal demon, her fight. With the White Fang's attacks and Cinder's conspiracy, the others had gotten dragged into it, but it was something that never should have happened. And there's still no way I'm letting you get hurt because of me, she thought, wincing at the memory of Yang, bloody and unconscious on the ground. But that's not what she needs to hear.
She swallowed and nodded. "You're right."
"Okay," Yang mumbled into her hair, the pressure not letting up in the slightest. "You still want to leave?"
"It's not safe. I need somewhere that can't be traced to me, where I can figure this ..." Blake paused, searching for some word to describe the shit-storm of the past couple days "... this out."
"It'll need more than one bed."
Blake pulled back just enough to look Yang in the face – a challenge, as her girlfriend refused to loosen the vice that clamped them together.
"You're coming?"
"Oh I'm not leaving your side until this is over. Ruby and Weiss'll probably be a bit uncomfortable in the same bed with us," Yang waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "You know, with the moaning and all."
Blake couldn't help but laugh, at the truly awful joke. Her idiot grinned, and one muscled arm freed itself to scoop up under Blake's knees, lifting her into the air.
Yang carried her to the bed, resting the Faunus on the mattress before sliding atop the sheets to join her. There they lay, Blake cuddled into her girlfriend's side, muscled arms wrapped around her shoulders. Squirming into a better position, she buried herself against the expanse of Yang's chest, soft curves pressing against her face.
"You really like my boobs, don't you?" Yang quipped, her chest rising and falling as she spoke.
Blake huffed and snuggled closer. "Like you don't enjoy playing with my ears."
"It wasn't a complaint," her girlfriend grinned cockily, one hand stroking the feline tufts.
A soft rumbling started in Blake's chest. One hand came up to knead Yang's back, her nails just pricking the skin. Yang kept up the gentle petting, fingers worrying at the base of the black, furry ears until gold eyes finally fell shut and she drifted into dreamless sleep.
Yang lay the exhausted girl against the pillow and pulled the bedsheets over her. She moved to leave, then leaned in, pressing her lips to Blake's forehead. Going as quietly as possible, Yang slipped out of the room, the mechanism clicking softly as the door inched shut.
Tiptoeing further from her sleeping girlfriend, she stepped into the abandoned living room. Violet eyes swept left and right. Ruby and Weiss were nowhere to be seen – the remains of breakfast still sitting on the kitchen table.
Grabbing the bowls and plates, Yang cleaned up, loading the dishwasher and scraping the last bit of toast into the garbage. Once everything was back to normal, she looked around, and laid her head against the wall.
It was just going to take time. She'd known it would – Blake was one of the more guarded people she knew, and it took a lot to get that girl to open up.
Lost in thought, she almost missed the sound of metal creaking. Looking up, she stared about the room and listened, wondering if she'd just imagined it. Then it came again, and Yang stepped out of the kitchen corner, moving into the living room.
It was clearer here – something almost rhythmic, creaking metal and ...
And it was coming from Ruby's room.
No, she thought, shaking her head in disbelief. They couldn't have ...
She grinned, knuckles cracking as she approached the opposite room. Putting her ear against the door, she listened, the telltale moans vibrating through the wood. Grinning like a madman, she waited until the sounds reached a fever pitch before swinging it open.
"You guys done yet?"
She closed the door just in time to muffle Weiss' shriek as the naked girl dived beneath the covers.